Format read: ebook copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley
Release Date: December 31st 2012
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Number of pages: 103 pages
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s website, Riptide Publishing, Amazon

Blurb:

For Captain Harry Thompson, the command of the prison transport ship HMS Banshee is his opportunity to prove his worth, working-class origins be damned. But his criminal attraction to his upper-crust First Lieutenant, Garnet Littleton, threatens to overturn all he’s ever worked for.

Lust quickly proves to be the least of his problems, however. The deadly combination of typhus, rioting convicts, and a monstrous storm destroys his prospects . . . and shipwrecks him and Garnet on their own private island. After months of solitary paradise, the journey back to civilization—surviving mutineers, exposure, and desertion—is the ultimate test of their feelings for each other.

These two very different men each record their story for an unfathomable future in which the tale of their love—a love punishable by death in their own time—can finally be told. Today, dear reader, it is at last safe for you to hear it all.

Note: This is a revised, stand-alone edition of the story originally published in the Hidden Conflict anthology in 2009.

My Thoughts:

It’s a rare occurrence when I decide to read a book without reading the synopsis first* (Well unless it’s an already settled series I’m reading). In this case, I’d never read a book by this author, so I blindly trusted  Riptide Publishing’s decision to publish   Blessed Isle. So far I’ve never been disappointed. I am really glad I didn’t read the synopsis because I think it reveals too much about the story. It’s not a capital offense but it’s even better when you can still be surprised by the story.

Are you ready to embark in an adventure around the globe? Blessed Isle is the story of Captain Harry Thompson and his First Lieutenant Garnet Littleton .  We’re actually reading Harry’s journal where he tells us how he came to fall in love with Garnet and what happened to them since that first meeting. This is a forbidden love and writing down this journal could have them both killed but he’s hoping that when they’ll both be long dead someone will read their story and know they loved each other. Awwww!

Harry’s voice is very lyrical. It’s really beautiful to read, very poetic. It feels like reading an epic story.  But then from out of nowhere Garnet decides to write his version of the story, or comment on what Harry had written in the previous entry. I did not expect that and I loved it. Garnet’s voice is so different from Harry’s, he jokes and makes light of everything. I loved how the two different styles completed each other. I couldn’t help but laugh at Garnet’s comments.

The story is riveting, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to know what happened to them. Would they be alright? Harry is trying to overcome his working class background, he wants to prove to everyone that he can be as good as any other man. But as a captain he can’t be seen with another man, so when he first meets Garnet he tries his best to ignore his attraction to the young man.

Garnet on the other hand is a flamboyant man from the upper class. He is a very social man, he loves life and all its pleasures. He often seemed borderline reckless, singing  songs about finding a man to love where he could be overheard etc. I loved that he was the one pulling us back down to earth when Harry’s tale started to become too dramatic.

I just wished this book had more sexy time. I know it wouldn’t be consistent with the ‘journal’ format, since they want to tell their story so it would be read by other people. I can’t really expect them to tell all the details about their love life but oh well, I still hoped.  Their unexpected journey freed them from the constraints of society and allowed them to  explore their mutual attraction.  I’m very happy with how the story ended, it left me smiling and full of hope.

Blessed Isle embarks you on a grand adventure around the world. The delivery is inventive and full of humor. You will fall under the spell of this poetic forbidden love story. I will definitely read more books by this author.

I give Blessed Isle 4 Stars

* First time I read the synopsis was when preparing this post

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

About Caro The HEA Lover

Caroline is a HEA loving, yarn addicted French who's desperately hoping to get a HEA of her own. If she's not reading then she can be found knitting while listening to Audiobooks or watching Tv shows. Her secret addiction is reading websites that make fun at other people's expense (DYAC, Failbook)! Caroline also blogs at the Secret HEA Society with Susi.

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